Trump, Malaysian skirt Najib, American probe in 1MDB scandal

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak of the White House on Tuesday praised his country for investing in the United States, avoiding the US investigation into a corrupt scandal in Malaysia.

The visit is important for Najib, which will face elections next year and wants to point out that it is still welcome in the White House despite a criminal investigation by the US State Ministry of Justice in the state fund called 1 Malaysia Development Berhad 1MDB.

Najib has established a fund that faces a money laundering trial in at least 6 countries, including the United States, Switzerland and Singapore. He denies he made a mistake.
US Department of Justice UU. According to him, more than $ 4.5 billion is redirected by senior officials and their associates, according to 12 civil lawsuits filed last year.

The Justice Department still seized about $ 1.7 billion of property allegedly bought with 1MDB redeployed funds, but has requested a resumption of civil lawsuits in August as it conducts related criminal investigations.

The White House has said it will not comment on the Justice Ministry’s investigation, but a senior US official admitted it was uncommon to meet Najib when MDB was researched.

Regulatory review

“This is a strange situation, no doubt,” the official said, explaining that the government prioritized the development of relations with Southeast Asia in order to counter the “huge gains” China brought in the region.

Najib and his delegation remained at Trump International Hotel, according to several US media, but the White House rejected questions about his stay.

“We certainly did not reserve our hotel rooms, so I could not talk about a personal decision on where to stay here in DC,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary of Barcodes.
In a speech to the leaders of the United States, Najib said opposition politicians used the first MdB scandal disproportionately in the failed attempt to open up their government.